The Guardians: Nature's Daughter
by Singapaw
Summary: The Guardians successfully vanquished the Nightmare King and are able to live in peace. But his minions, known as Fearlings, survived and are now on a rampage. Lore is a daughter of Mother Nature. She is sought out by the Guardians to help study and fight against the Fearlings. 500 years of living like a hermit as lead for her to be rather bitter, but she longs for company.


For a moment Jack was struck by her beauty. She wore a strange body suit that was made of a deep green leather, it was engraved with a pattern that was very similar to Bunnymund's warren's giant stone eggs. Her hair grew off her scalp in little branches and they were thickly covered in leaves, branches grew from her jaw and temples and entwined with her hair too. Her strange hair reached her hips and the ends draped like a willow tree. Her arms and shins were armed with guards that were made of bark and she had bare feet. Her face was angular and her eyes were somewhat slanted with bright gold irises.

Lore was carefully holding a tiny flame in her hands and her gold eyes were staring at it intensely. Her breath made the little flame quiver until it finally blew out into smoke. Lore narrowed her exotic eyes and Jack and Tooth.

"_Guardians_," she muttered in her husky voice, saying the word like it was a profanity. Suddenly she didn't seem quiet as beautiful as before to Jack.

"Well nice to see you too," Jack coughed with dismay. Tooth smacked his shoulder and gave him a look of annoyance.

"Uh, whatever. Oh mighty, oh great. Thy need of ye arrogance, thy need of ye bighead," Jack gushed sarcastically at Lore. Tooth moaned at his idiocy.

Lore glowered at Jack with such ferocity that Jack stumbled back a couple of steps.

"What he means to say is that we _really _need your help, and that bringing him here was an extreme privileged – not to mention that if he blew it here North would personally make sure he never leaves the North Pole again." Tooth corrected Jack. Jack's shoulders slumped like he already knew that threat.

"I'm no obnoxious minion of that great lump of cheese," Lore growled and jabbed a finger at the moon. "I'm the daughter of Mother Nature. I'm so much more powerful than tragic _Guardians_."

"Ah, right. So you're like Snow White, that singing numskull," Jack commented.

Lore's face burned red with hatred. And she retorted, "I'm sorry, I thought _your _name was Snow White. I mean you have the costume and theme down."

Tooth's face went bright red and she grabbed Jack by the hood. She dragged him away out of Lore's sight and pointed a finger at Jack, "stay put. If you move, so help me –"

"I'll stay!" Jack put his hands up defensively.

Tooth tried to scowl, but her good nature got the better of her and she beamed with relief at Jack. She patted his head and wisped back to Lore.

Lore had her lips pursed and was tapping her foot impatiently when Tooth returned. She noticeably cheered up when Tooth returned without Jack.

"Hah, that kid needs to be put in time-out? What a child, though I suppose they say your work rubs off onto you," Lore chuckled. Tooth grimaced and prepared herself to convince Lore.

"We have a big problem –" she started.

"Let me guess, it's either that kid or Pitch Black."

"Actually no... well sort of. Pitch is gone for good, we're sure of that. It's just is _minions_, known as fearlings, didn't really die out. Well it's worse than that, they are reproducing."

Lore raised her eye brows. "Sand can...reproduce?"

"This sand is possessed by some sort of life force. Though we haven't been able to study them, even if we _had _been able to we most likely wouldn't know how." Tooth crossed her legs shyly, "That's why we need you, Lore."

"Okay... so you want me to study a creature and...?" Lore translated.

"Help fight?" Tooth asked hopefully. She and the other Guardians knew Lore had been a sensational warrior a couple of centuries ago but given up for a quieter life style. She never ceased to reject every offer for her services.

Lore raised her chin in a stubborn way. "I do desire to help you Toothiana but I doubt I will endure combat along with your Guardians and the child. _But _I see no harm in helping you study the fearlings."

Tooth had been biting her index knuckle while Lore spoke, when she had finished Tooth let out an excited squeal. "That's wonderful!"

"I'll return to the other Guardians with you and the child." Lore confirmed.

They left for the North Pole straight away and collected Jack on the way (though Lore tried her best to ditch him). North had generously lent them a glass portal so they could travel faster, so they reached the Russian workshop in no time. Lore was deeply fascinated by this new landscape, despite her old age and knowledge about things, Lore hadn't physically seen them for herself.

When they reached the main doors Jack immediately shoved in front of Lore. She slapped a hand down on his shoulder and yanked him back, "Elders first." Lore smirked and passed the doors, practically bubbling with dignity.

"Purrrlease! You don't look any older than me." Jack scoffed.

Lore chuckled. "Good. But that isn't the point, I am at least two hundred _years _older than you mentally and one year older physically. So yes, I _am _older than you."

"You were eighteen when changed?" Jack asked with genuine curiosity.

"Ugh. Are you referencing me to the lump of cheese in the sky again? I am _not _like you and your guardians. I was _born _eighteen. See you're just a little child still and always will be." Lore said as the group wandered deeper into the building.

"Seventeen is not a little child!" Jack yelled but Lore had turned her attention towards upcoming yetis. Lore couldn't help but gawk at the hairy creatures. They continued into the main workshop area and Lore started to act like a child on Christmas morning. Jack found it rather disturbing that every time she moved her hair didn't sway an inch, it seemed to be stiff because of the tree roots attached to her skull.

The other Guardians, Bunnymund, Sandman and North, were already conversing around the large fire place on the balcony that over looked the circular shop. North was holding a small bundle wrapped up in a red cloth in his arms, Lore immediately wondered what he was holding with such care and delicacy. Fortunately Jack voiced her question, "What's in the blanket?"

North's cheerful face went serious and Lore honestly thought he was holding a fearling. But he removed the cloth away, revealing two largely lashed chocolate eyes and a snout. A reindeer calf. It had a dark chocolate coat with a cream dorsal stripe. It looked tired, like exhausted.

"Rudolph spawned?" Jack asked.

"Wow, you are a very dim person that had been alive for three generations," Lore concluded.

"Well I'm guessing you completely skipped puberty, so I think I know more than you."

"Oh! I'm so sorry I thought _you _never experienced puberty and frozen in time before it could kick in. I didn't want to saying anything because it might have come out insensitive," Lore smirked.

Jack scowled and thrust his staff towards Lore, freezing her legs to the ground. Lore let out an outraged gasp then rolled her eyes. She pressed her hands against her frozen thighs and the ice began to melt. Jack was momentarily surprised by Lore's power, before putting on his poker face.

North coughed awkwardly and ran a thick finger down the calf's snout. "'is name is Dunder. V'ee recantation ov v'ee old Dunder, old Dunder v'as, v'ell getting old so he...restarted," North explained.

It took a second before it sunk into Jack's head. "Wait that's _thee_ Dunder?" He asked.

"You know ov 'im? Poor Dunder never gets much attention!"

"I was being sarcastic..." Jack grimaced, as if North's ignorance embarrassed him.

"Wait! You mean Jack was _right_!? The...I mean, Dunder spawned?" Lore asked incredulously.

"V'es!" North grinned and shoved the bundle into Bunny's arms. "V'ank you v'or volunteering, Bunny!"

Bunny stood there blankly before his expression began to deflate. "No way, mate!" But North had left and Bunny knew he was stuck with the calf. Lore took this moment to observe the Easter Bunny. She had heard of E. Aster Bunnymund before, but in truth she had only heard of his gentle way with children and his logical mind. Not...this. Despite Lore's dislike of Guardians she couldn't help but admire Aster, he inspired her a lot. But this was not how she imagined him. He looked like a common Australian overgrown rabbit, if those were common.

Lore sighed. She was really a lot older than she wanted to be. Aster must have developed in the last hundred years, give or take a decade. Jack was right, though Lore wouldn't say it even on her death bed, she felt like she had skipped her childhood. It never had bothered her, not for a couple of centuries at least. Now, being with all these Guardians, it just made her envious.

"I'm going to find somewhere to stay," Lore said, walking away from the little group.

Tooth frowned, "I should escort you... so sorry but I have so many things to keep track of. I trust Jack will help though!" Tooth flew out a open window in the roof and disappeared.

Lore and Jack regarded each other for a second before both making sick sounds. "Right, I'm off. I'll escort myself," Lore slunk away as Jack nodded in agreement.

Lore found a passage that led to the back of the workshop. Even being a little neglected back there it was still toasty warm. You wouldn't be able to guess it was even snowing outside if it hadn't been for the windows. Lore pressed her face against the slightly tinted orange windows. North's workshop was on the weirdest piece of land he could have thought of. It was literally on the edge of a shallow icy chasm. Below in the chasm's arms was a little village made of circular Russian houses with quirky little onion domes centred on their roofs. The windows were glowing orange with warm light, like the workshop. The village was beautiful. For a moment she wondered who lived there, but realised it must have been the yetis village. Other towers, similar to the yetis houses, were arranged on ledges all around the workshop as well. The yetis were well protected.

Lore left the window and continued down the passage. The passage opened up into a large circular room. The room was at least two stories tall and two stories deep, the room had no floor. The room was tracked with little wooden bridges. The bridges didn't have railing and the only thing holing them up were thick beams the ran from the floor deep below to the highest bridge.

Lore took a careful step onto the horizontal planks. The bridge didn't shake but Lore still felt unsteady. She hesitantly walked down the path the bridge made. The bridge stopped at a thick pillar. It was different from the bridge beams, which were square shaped, the pillar was thicker and cylinder shaped. Above the pillar had some sort of pulley system attached to thick wire. The wire held up a couple of little triangular cubby holes, just big enough for an adult to kneel inside. The whole room was filled with strange contraptions like the cubby holes. But all of them seemed broken and the room looked like it was in grey scale compared to the rest of the workshop.

Lore sat down on the bridge and hung her legs over the edge. She put her hands down beside her – only to take one back absolutely frozen.

"Ugghhh!" Lore cried.

"Interesting place to come to," a voice spoke. Lore turned to see Jack crouching on top of one of the triangle cubby holes. Lore pursed her lips and turned away to look down at the pit below. Jack leapt off the cubby hole and used his staff to propel himself towards Lore. He sat down, one leg crouched close to his body while the other hung loosely over the edge of the bridge. Lore felt slightly easier that Jack was comfortable with being so close to the edge with her.

"What is this place, Jack?" Lore asked. He looked up and Lore noticed something that she hadn't before. It looked like the centre of the room. A huge three dimensional triangle made of the same wood the bridge was. Parts of the triangle weren't covered with wood and inside Lore could see dusty golden cogs and other mechanical parts. It was a machine, part of the workshop.

"Why don't the yetis or North use this room any more?" Lore changed her question.

"Can't you tell? It's all broken. No one has time to fix this big of a mess and I don't even know how to fix it," Jack replied.

"Did the Nightmare King do this?"

"His fearlings did a couple of months after Pitch was finished."

"On their own." It wasn't a question, more of a statement. "Did the Nightmare King die?"

Jack yanked his hood over his head with the crook of his staff. "I'm not sure. None of us know, but I'd say it's a safe bet that he is gone."

"Jack, why are you here. You don't even like me."

"True. But it would have been rude of me not to help a little... Also North was trying to get me to do jobs."

They sat there awkwardly for a couple of minutes, Jack froze dust with his fingers and Lore twiddled her thumbs.

"Hey, if someone pulled a leaf from your... uh hair, what does it feel like?" Jack asked, breaking the silence. Lore smiled and raised a hand towards his face. She brushed past his temple so that the very tip of her palm touch him. Jack raised an eyebrow but didn't move. She entwined her fingers through his hair slowly then quickly jolted away - yanking a white hair out of Jack's scalp. He cried out and held a hand to his head.

"It feels like that," Lore smirked.

Jack gave her a withered look, "I didn't think you could do it, but I actually dislike you even more than before."

Lore shrugged. She ran her fingers across the bridge, letting her fingers remember the shapes the wood grain made.

"What is this place made of?" Lore asked quietly.

"Uh concrete, I guess?"

Lore nodded thoughtfully and stood up. She held a strong stance and clenched her fists, perhaps she could do something about this room. Concentrating hard, Lore squeezed her eyes closed and breathed deeply. Slowly, but surly, broken parts of the room began to rise and fit back into place. Each piece of concrete levitated towards the cylinder walls. It was like a giant puzzle, everything fitted perfectly. Soon the walls were back to a smooth sanded surface, even a painted mural that rung around the room came back to place.

When Lore opened her eyes all she could see was all the things she hadn't fixed, all the contraptions and wooden structures. Jack looked astonished.

"You c-can do that!?" He stuttered.

"I can do anything with natural sources. Including ice and stone." Jack remembered her melting his ice and couldn't helping feeling annoyed.

"Wow that makes me feel needed."

Lore gave him a sympathetic smile. "I can't control ice, I can only turn it into water. Don't ask me why, I don't understand my powers at all." Jack smiled a tiny smile. "Anyway, who would annoy everybody if you weren't here?"

Jack was about to ask why she didn't fix the wood when a loud screech came from behind them. Lore swung around, hands ready. Blocking the bridge was a broad shouldered canine fearling. Wisps of black sand twisted and churned around it's ugly body. Lore had grisly the feeling if it had been a normal dog it would be frothing at the mouth. The creature snarled and charged. Before Lore could react Jack somersaulted in front of her and hurled a ice dart at the creature's forehead. The creature simply split in two and reformed. Lore twisted her wrist and the ice dart, which was stuck in the wood behind the fearling, melted into water. The water bubbled swiped and slashed at the fearling, slicing off limbs – which reformed immediately.

"How do you _kill _these monsters!" Lore cried.

"I know how, but I need height!" Jack yelled back. Lore thrust her fists upwards, the wood seized Jack's feet and shot him up into the air, supporting Jack five meters in the air. Jack pointed his staff at the fearling, icing the creature flat across the bridge. Lore let the wood release Jack onto the bridge with a wrist movement.

"Is it stuck permanently?" Lore asked, nearing the flattened black fearling.

"I don't know, last time it seemed to be permanent but last time fearlings were a lot easier to kill," Jack replied.

Just then North came charging into the room, both swords drawn. "V'e 'ave company! And it isn't V'riendly!" North bellowed.

"Who!?" Jack shouted as he darted after North. Suddenly all three were knocked over by an invisible force.

North grimaced as he jumped back to his feet, "I believe you could say we have just meet Lore's sister."


End file.
